BROKEN ARROW, Okla. â€” Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 & 3 as well as 14 & 15, led Cody Kent of Castle Rock, Colo., to the top of the leaderboard after round one, in the Boys Division at the Scissortail Junior Championship. Kayli Quinton of Cypress, Texas and Alexandra Stewart of Peoria, Ariz., opened with matching scores of 1-under-par 71 to lead the Girls Division by one stroke.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Scissortail Junior Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event being held at Emerald Falls Golf Club. The field consists of 98 players, 75 boys and 23 girls, from 14 states and Taiwan. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,004 yards and the Girls Division at 6,094 yards.

Hitting 15 greens and a strong putting day gave Kent a lot of opportunities to go low and not much need to struggle for pars.

â€śI was hitting it pretty close most of the day and giving myself a lot of chances,â€ť Kent said. â€śI couldn't get it going in the middle but then I got it back at the end,â€ť he said.

Second in the Boys Division is Ben Peacock of Caledonia, Mich., and John Cassidy of Tulsa, Okla., at 2-under-par 70. Chris Worrell of Enid, Okla., sits in fourth at 1-under-par 71. Tied for fifth at even-par 72 are Nathan Watson of Huntsville, Texas, Brock Wilson of Beaumont, Texas and Seiji Liu of Bradenton, Fla.

In the Girls Division, Quinton used consistency and accuracy to end the day under-par.

â€śI hit a lot of fairways and greens today, the whole round was consistent,â€ť Quinton said. â€śI had a lot of tap-in pars and some of them dropped for birdie,â€ť she said.

Stewart also made her day easy by playing on the conservative side of most holes since she was unable to play a practice round for the event.

â€śI hit my irons well and made some putts,â€ť Stewart said, â€śMy driver wasn't great today, but I just chose to play it safe and see what happened. It all ended up alright.â€ť

Third in the Girls Division is Brittany Mai of Poway, Calif., at even-par 72.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

Second-round tee times for the Scissortail Junior Championship will run from 7 a.m. â€” 12:20 p.m. Wednesday off the No. 1 tee at Emerald Falls Golf Club. For more information about the Scissortail Junior Championship, please contact Tournament Headquarters at 918-266-2600 and ask for the AJGA.

The American Junior Golf Foundation is the primary recipient of all charitable giving to the AJGA and as such administers a variety of programs designed to compliment the AJGA and the members and families who make up our community. Learn more about these important programs and how your contributions to the Foundation secure the AJGA’s financial future for future generations to come.

The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA’s mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

Leadership Links

What is Leadership Links?

Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and
development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.